A Perris man has been sentenced to six years, 10 months in prison for starting a fire that burned 1,680 acres in the Sequoia National Forest last year and cultivating marijuana in the vicinity.

He also was ordered by a federal judge on Tuesday to pay more than $6.5 million to cover the costs of fighting that fire.

The “Nicolls Fire” was spotted on July 14, in the Kiavah Wilderness Area of the National Forest in Kern County, south of the town of Onyx.

Edgardo Fournier, 46 — who also went by the name, “Edgardo Fournier-Nigaglioni” — was picked up by authorities after that, and he reportedly told investigators that he had been running from people chasing him through the wilderness and set fires with a lighter as he ran to keep them away, said Lauren Harwood, a spokeswoman for the Office of the the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.

She said it wasn’t determined whether the man actually was chased.

The small fire quickly grew amid the dry brush and trees lining the rugged terrain, and firefighters had to be flown in by helicopters to battle the blaze using whatever equipment they could carry.

For a time, the fire threatened more than 1,600 homes and other structures spread out in the areas of Kap Canyon and Walker Pass, but firefighters on the ground and firefighting aircraft had it undercontrol by July 18, before any damage in those area could occur.

A total of 868 people were involved in fighting the Nicolls Fire, according to information provided by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

While fighting the fire, Forest Service officials discovered an illegal marijuana growing site near the fire zone where Fournier reportedly worked, which lead to the drug-related charges.

None of the marijuana plants were damaged by the fire.

In January, Fournier pled guilty to counts of conspiring to manufacture and possess marijuana, with intent to distribute, and setting a timber fire, after additional charges were dropped under a plea agreement.

Fournier faced a maximum sentence of 40 years on the drug conspiracy charge alone, along with another five years for setting a timber fire, but U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Fournier to less than a quarter of that time in prison.

The judge also ordered Fournier to pay restitution to cover the costs of fighting the fire, but considering the costs were in the millions of dollars, it’s not clear whether the defendant ever will be able to come up with that money.